Withdrawals didn't affect Track Asia Cup grade: CFI

The last-minute withdrawal of three countries has not affected the Class I gradation of the cycling Track Asia Cup that began here Friday at the Indira Gandhi Velodrome, organisers said.

The Cycling Federation of India (CFI)-organised tournament was certified as a Class I event and recognised as an Olympic qualifier by the international cycling union (UCI). However, late withdrawals cast a shadow of doubt over the grade of competition.

"A minimum of five countries are required to get an event registered as Class I. We invited eight teams and applied for the top registration which was approved by the UCI," CFI assistant secretary V.N. Singh told IANS Friday.

"But despite the sudden pull-outs of three countries, it remains a Class I event as we fulfilled the minimum criteria of participation from five countries."

Just prior to the start of the competition, Pakistan, Malaysia and Uzbekistan withdrew citing different reasons.

Pakistan was the first team to pull-out for "some internal problems".

"Uzbekistan informed us that their sponsors backed out in the 11th hour while Malaysian riders met with an accident during a training session so they pulled out," CFI secretary Onkar Singh told IANS.

Apart from hosts India, Hong Kong, Thailand, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh are taking part in the three-day event thereby fulfilling the five-country criteria.

High costs coupled with scarcity of time meant that despite the best efforts of CFI, they couldn't find suitable replacements for the withdrawing sides.

"It was difficult to find replacements at the 11th hour. Some countries also didn't come because they couldn't afford the high costs, despite our providing free boarding and lodging to all participants," V.N. Singh said.

The tournament was organised to facilitate participation of Indian cyclists in top events like the World Championships and Olympics after UCI changed its rules stipulating that countries aspiring to field their cyclists in elite competitions have to host a minimum of one UCI-approved event every year.